A federal judge has fined Sable Offshore $1.45 million for violating a pipeline consent decree, but rejected a bid by California regulators to halt operations on the company’s Santa Ynez Pipeline System, Sable announced Monday.

The dual rulings clear the way for the oil and gas producer to continue restarting and expanding the critical infrastructure, which has been plagued by legal and operational delays following a massive 2015 oil spill under previous owner ExxonMobil.

According to court filings, Sable violated a 2020 consent decree by resuming line operations without securing required authorization from the California state fire marshal.

However, the court determined the company came back into compliance once the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration officially approved its restart plan.

Despite the $1.45 million penalty, the refusal to grant a shutdown gives Sable crucial leverage in reviving the offshore system.

The company successfully restarted production from one of the facility’s offshore platforms last year, marking the first line activity in nearly a decade since the 2015 spill forced a complete shutdown.

In a related legal win for the producer, the judge denied California’s request to block a federal Defense Production Act order issued to support Sable's pipeline infrastructure.

The ruling explicitly prohibited the California Department of Parks and Recreation from taking legal action aimed at preventing Sable’s compliance with the federal directive.

California state officials have filed an appeal against the decision denying the preliminary injunction to stop operations, while a co-defendant filed an appeal against a related declaratory judgment in the complex dispute.

The legal tug-of-war highlights ongoing friction between federal mandates designed to bolster domestic energy infrastructure and local environmental oversight along the California coast. For now, Sable remains positioned to proceed with its multi-phase pipeline expansion plans.